Two puppeteers were held for five days in pre-trial detention for glorification of terrorism because a character in their performance carried a banner that was interpreted as support of terrorist organizations ETA and Al-Qaeda.

A judge from the National Court of Spain ruled in favor of imprisonment without bail for two puppeteers after they were arrested and held overnight in a police station for performing a satirical work of puppet theater on the street in Madrid.

Part of the act

It seems that at some point in the performance, one of the characters carried a banner reading "Gora ALKA-ETA ("Long live Al-Qaeda and ETA" in Basque).

As the puppeteers explained before the judge, within their performance there was a police officer who fabricated evidence against the main characters in order to charge them with a crime; to this end the police officer made the banner of supposed support for the terrorist organizations (ETA and Al-Qaeda). It was part of a fictional performance and in no way an expression of the opinion of the puppeteers themselves.

Despite this, the judge ruled in favor of pre-trial detention on the grounds that these deeds may constitute the crime of glorification of terrorism, and that the puppeteers might perform this same work again.

Legal excess

Patricia Goicoechea, associate director of Rights International Spain, explained to InfoLibre that in the judicial decree, which called for pre-trial detention, "the description of the facts lacked any context," which would be necessary in determining whether there was or was not any intention to glorify terrorism.

She further explained: "If a certain expression is used to describe a character but is not the central message of the work nor a statement of the work's intentions, then this may not count as a crime."

She also pointed out that "excess in the application of these laws" might lead to "a disproportionate threat to the freedom of expression and an atmosphere of censorship or self-censorship" and could make frivolous criminal law.

After nearly five days of imprisonment without bail, the judge passed another decree revoking this measure but upholding the charges against the puppeteers and requiring that they surrender their passports and present themselves before the court periodically.